International reach
Located in the centre of Paris, the Centre Culturel Irlandais is an international crossroads where the shared island of Ireland meets the rest of the world.
Located in the centre of Paris, the Centre Culturel Irlandais is an international crossroads where the shared island of Ireland meets the rest of the world.
The CCI is a place of inspiration where connections are made and artists have access to renowned cultural institutions and ambitious performances in a global cultural capital.
International connections - Presidency of FICEP and member of EUNIC
CCI director Nora Hickey M’Sichili is the current President of FICEP (Forum des Instituts Culturels Etrangers à Paris). Unique in the world, this Forum unites 55 different countries’ cultural institutes from Latin America, the Mediterranean, Europe, Russia, Asia, the Far East and the Middle East. This allows the CCI to lead the organisation of FICEP’s cross-cultural international festivals as well as allowing artists and curators present at the CCI to immediately tap into a network of international organisations.
The CCI is also an active member of EUNIC, the EU National Insitutes for Culture, in Paris.
The CCI has recently become an associate member of Association des Centres culturels de rencontre which has 26 French members and more than 20 international members.
French connections and partnerships
Over the last 20 years, the CCI has built up connections and partnerships with a myriad of organisations in France and further afield, from the neighbouring Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3, Ecole normale supérieure (ENS) and Ecole nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs (ENSAD) to the prestigious Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and numerous editors such as Belfond, Albin Michel, Sabine Wespieser éditeur, Gallimard... We have a longstanding relationship with the Marché de la Poésie, Paris l'été and Dinard Festival du Film Britannique and have just intiated a new collaboration with the Musée Tomi Ungerer. From the Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet, Théâtre de la Ville and Philharmonie de Paris to the Cartoucherie, Le Mouffetard and cinema Les 3 Luxembourg, CCI has organised events with many major French cultural partners.
A vital Irish cultural resource
The CCI is a trailblazing part of the network of Irish cultural organisations inaugurated by the Irish government.
A vital cultural resource supporting Ireland’s diaspora and diplomatic missions, the CCI collaborates with numerous partners for celebrations such as the centenary of the birth of writer Brendan Behan in 2023 or the centenary of Ireland's participation in the Olympic Games in 2024. Indeed, for a few exciting weeks, 5 rue des Irlandais became home to Team Ireland’s athletes as they wound down post-competition.
In 2025, together with Imbolg, Saint Brigid’s and our annual Saint Patrick’s Festival, the CCI is marking Culture Ireland’s 20th year promoting the arts abroad as well as collaborating with the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the OECD and UNESCO to mark the twenty years of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
International artist residents at the CCI
The CCI builds relationships in order to broaden the profile of artists that spend time at the CCI. This allows Irish and Ireland-based artists to spend time with their international contemporaries… conversations can start over a cup of coffee and lead to the most exciting collaborations.
- The University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture and American University of Paris award an annual one-month CCI residency to an anglophone writer of any origin.
- The CCI's International Residency for Theatre-makers sees three practitioners from Portugal, Greece and Ireland spending one month here at the CCI at the same time. Our partners are Abbey National Theatre (Dublin); Camões – Centro Cultural Português (Paris), Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II (Portugal); Centre Culturel Hellénique (Paris), National Theatre of Greece (Athens).
Awards to support Franco-Irish relations
The CCI has created two biannual awards to support Franco-Irish cultural relations:
the Prix de Thèse is awarded for a doctoral thesis in French on an Irish-related subject and the Prix de Traduction is awarded to the translator of a work of fiction by an Irish author who is as yet unknown in France.
Promoting Irish artists in Europe
As part of the CCI's commitment to promoting the work of Irish artists and facilitating their access to collaborations on the European continent, the CCI initiated an extensive visual arts project as part of Zeitgeist Irland 24: The exhibition Invisible Light by artists Cleary Connolly was presented by the CCI at the Planetarium in Hamburg in September 2024. An ambitious 5-day professional trip to Belfast and Dublin was created and organised for 6 Germany-based curators from the Kunsthalle, Kunstverein and Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, the Frankfurt Kunstverein and Staatsgalerie Stuttgart in November 2024, allowing the curators to engage with more than 25 practicing artists in Ireland as well as visit a dozen galleries, studio hubs and museums.
An initiative of our partner Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Berlin, Zeitgeist Irland 24 is the season of Irish arts and culture in Germany that ran throughout 2024.